New Direction & Trekking Into Darkness

So that weekly update thing... yeah that's probably not going to work anymore. Not that it was a horribly idea. It's just that I missed two weeks and now I feel a little behind with it all.

The weekly update was providing another problem too. The length of the post. I'm personally not a fan of reading long blog posts or news articles, so trying to keep one weekly update with several different topics into as short a post as possible was posing a challenge. I always felt like I ended up ranting on a little too long about everything.

So with that being said I'm going to no longer commit to one post weekly. Instead I will try to trim it into smaller, more frequent posts regarding a single topic.

This one will still be a little sporadic though.

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I've finished watching all of the movies in my Ebert's Top 10 list and I'll have a post up regarding that in the next week or so. I won't bother adding a summary of the last two films, Vertigo and Tree of Life. They were both great, watch them if you can, and I'll have my full thoughts in that coming blog post.

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I've only seen a couple movies in the past couple of weeks. Pain and Gain and the new Star Trek. I'm only going to do a review for Star Trek. In a quick rundown, Pain and Gain was a fun movie at times but it was slow to start and bloated with Michael Bay's over stylized camera work and some annoying narration. It picks up about halfway through and turns the remainder into a good bit of ridiculous fun but it's never enough to rise it above being good. Mark Whalberg is great playing an ignorant muscle head oblivious of his own stupidity and was probably one of the best parts for me. I gave it a 5/10 on IMDB.

That's basically all for now. I'll end this off with my thoughts on Star Trek Into Darkness and will be back in the next few days with a review of Fast and Furious 6 (hint: it's awesome) and my thoughts on Ebert's Top 10.

Star Trek Into Darkness 7/10

I'm going to open this review by stating that I've never seen any of the original Star Trek movies or TV shows. I recall passing over them as a kid while flicking through the channels and just thinking they looked silly at the time. With their drab outfits, odd looking characters and cold, dark sets the franchise always seemed a bit of a joke when I was a kid.

I jumped on the Star Trek bandwagon, as many others probably did, with the recent reboot. It brought color and life to characters I shrugged off in my youth. It had a great director at the helm with J.J. Abrams. It was fun and exciting. And most importantly it was smart. It used the gimmick of time travel, which is starting to get overexposed and stale, and simplified it to help open up the franchise to a whole new direction without alienating the fans of the original material. It is, in my opinion, one of the best examples of how to reboot/restart a franchise.

Warp to 4 years in the future and here we are staring the excessively hyped Star Trek Into Darkness in the face. The story this time around follows the crew of the Enterprise as they return to earth from a near fatal mission on a foreign planet. With the consequences of this mission looming over Spock and Kirk, a new threat appears and hits them where they live. Fueled by vengeance, Kirk leads the Enterprise and his crew to the reaches of space to hunt down the man responsible and end up finding more danger than they ever bargained for.

I can't say too much more as far as the plot goes without spoiling anything. One of the things I want to praise about the movie is the clever advertising. Once again, can't say too much, but I've complained a lot recently about the quality of trailers and the amount of information they give regarding plot and spoiling key moments in movies. Well, everyone needs to step back and start taking notes from Mr. Abrams on how to make a trailer because what I thought I was getting, and what I actually got, weren't quite the same. In a good way of course.

With the same cast and crew, the film carries over a lot of the same humor and style as the one before. It does, in typical blockbuster sequel fashion, take on a darker, more serious tone this time around though. This shift works in adding gravity to some elements of the story that would not have worked if it tried to keep with the same upbeat tone and colorful scenery as the first one. They still manage to squeeze in plenty of fancy special effects and explosions to brighten everything up, and the locations they visit at the beginning and end of the film are vivid and colorful to even it all out.

The 3D in this movie was terrific as well. I highly recommend watching this in IMAX 3D if possible. There's a lot of beauty going on here and this is one of the rare movies lately where I actually feel like the 3D added to the experience. I haven't seen it in 2D yet to compare but at no point during the movie did I find it distracting or gimmicky. It helped add depth to the environments and immerse me into the movie as 3D should.

While the cast and acting was good overall, I did feel that it spent too much time around Kirk and Spock. It's not the worst thing because Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto carry their roles well and the chemistry between the two characters is great. Chris Pine is turning into the charismatic action star that Ryan Reynolds wishes he could be. But I would have enjoyed it if more screen time was given to the rest of the crew. The relationship between Uhura and Spock is supposed to be one of the bigger parts of the plot but it never seems to get past childish, teenage bickering between the two. I never really felt their relationship was strained or played a vital part and at no point does the movie make me care enough about it even though it continued to be brought up. The one standout with the rest of the cast, and my favorite part of the movie was Benedict Cumberbatch. That boy can act and he can kick ass with the best of them as well. One particular action scene with him had me grinning from ear to ear and was one of the standout moments of the movie for me.

My biggest problem and fault I found with this movie is in the direction it took as a whole. The whole time I was watching the movie I had the sense that something was missing. It was loud and action packed and it was all done well but it just constantly nagged at me that the movie should have been smarter. It felt like it was slowly fitting into the same mold that so many senseless, generic summer blockbusters fill. Which is disappointing when you think of the potential available here. Space exploration should be groundbreaking. We should be seeing things that we've never seen in a movie before. New planets. New characters. That all seems to be sacrificed here to make room for unnecessary scenes setting up a bromance between Spock and Kirk. I feel this is a hugely missed opportunity and something that could set Star Trek above your typical summer blockbuster fare.

Hopefully in the third installment they expand more into the exploration portion of the series. Less time (if any) spent on earth and on the ship and more time running into danger on undiscovered planets and meeting some new and colorful characters we've never seen before. Why go through the trouble of giving a clean slate to the franchise with the alternate timeline plot point if you don't take advantage of it?

Anyway, until that time, Star Trek Into Darkness will entertain anyone who's a fan of your typical blockbuster eye candy. It's a worthy addition to a series that's at the top of it's game right now. And even if the franchise turns into your standard, run of the mill, summer popcorn flick, then it will still be one of the more entertaining options out there.

Weekly Update 05/15

I don't get Hollywood sometimes. I mentioned a couple weeks ago how Marvel has the potential to have one of the most lucrative franchises right now. With the success of The Avengers and the wave they're going to be riding off of that, they have the opportunity to bring almost any of their comic book characters to new life on the big screen. They have an incredibly good thing going.

So what's the point of having a good thing if you can't fuck it up?

That seems to be what Marvel is aiming to do with their current negotiations. The story I'm referring to is found here. Don't worry if you didn't read the whole thing. The gist of it is that Marvel doesn't give a shit about any of the actors they have playing their super human team that has raked in a few billion dollars for them thus far. All except for Robert Downey Jr. that is. And in his defense, he is the one who got this ball rolling with Iron Man. I highly doubt the movie and character would of had the same success without him in the now iconic role. He's also proven that he can make money on his own terms with the impressive run that Iron Man 3 is currently having. So it's not shocking that he's the only one of the bunch that Marvel seems to have any urgency to get back.

After the success of The Avengers they shouldn't be putting all their money on one person though. If The Avengers has shown us anything, it's that the fans are open to the ensemble cast idea and aren't tied down to one particular character. The only stand outs in The Avengers for myself were the Hulk and Loki. They stole the show on their own, but the rest worked best when they had another Avenger to banter with. It has spread to much more than just Iron Man at this point. If Downey Jr. doesn't show up for a few movies I don't think it's going to be the end of the world at this point.

I also don't get why it seems that the other main actors are falling in line behind Robert and letting him do the talking. I get that he's a bit of a proven box office draw at this point but if he was such a stand up guy then why isn't he willing to take a bit of a pay cut from his alleged $50-80 million he made from The Avengers so that everybody else can get a bit of a bump in pay? Doesn't sound to me like he has any of their interests in mind while negotiating. It's easy for him to say at this point that he won't come back unless the others get a pay increase, when he's made it public knowledge that he doesn't even want to play the Iron Man character much longer. If they don't take him back then he gets to do other things (which is what he seems to want). If they take him back then he's getting a solid payday for another role in a movie that's still two years away and possibly an even bigger payday (for what I assume would be a much smaller role) in a movie that's four-six years away. Assuming they only snag him for the next two Avenger movies and no more Iron Man.

I think Marvel is looking at this all the wrong way and are missing huge story-line opportunities. I don't read comic books but I know enough about them to tell you that a huge part of comic books is life and death. Superheros have been killed off and brought back plenty of times. Either through some fictional form of resurrection or by having new characters step into iconic roles. It all goes with the draw that anybody can be a superhero. So why doesn't Marvel go this route? If Chris Hemsworth doesn't want to come back without a good payday, then suck it up. Give him his payday but write his death into the script of the next Thor movie or the next Avengers movie. Let him die in some epic fashion that will fuel a story arc for another few movies. Give them something to fight for. And then bring him back in some Asgardian fashion in a few years with a new actor in the role. I think this life and death would help move this whole Marvel universe along, keep it fresh and invigorated, and give it a lifespan rivaled only by the Bond franchise.

Obviously not all characters can be written back in with a simple godly resurrection but I would even be ok with just saying goodbye to some characters. It's a very robust comic book universe out there. I think a well done Ant Man could be a worthy replacement for Iron Man.

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Thankfully I managed to get caught up with my Eberts Top 10 list this week. It's taking me a very long time to watch 10 movies, I know. But bear with me. Only Vertigo and Tree of Life left for this week. Once again here's a quick summary:

Aguirre, Wrath of God

The hardest on the list to find and understandably so. Odd could be an appropriate word to describe this German film from the 1970's. What starts as an odd journey for riches through Peru, turns into an incredibly captivating descent into madness.

Apocalypse Now

Another of the films I've already seen. This is another look at the slow descent madness and may be one of my favorites. Brando is so amazing in the minimal amount of screen time he has here and Martin Sheen is equally as impressive. A younger version of myself would have probably been bored with this movie. Current me loves it.

Tokyo Story

Let down your guard. Realize that movies are about telling a story. Spectacle and excitement aren't always required. If you can do that then Tokyo Story will be one of the best and truest forms of visual storytelling there is. Not a wasted shot. No filler whatsoever. Never have I seen a movie where the story is so simply laid out in front of me but still had my full attention.

La Dolce Vita

From Italy (not France, my bad) and the first film I've seen from Federico Fellini. Not a movie you want to watch tired. I feel like some of the movie was lost on me with the dialogue, which doesn't always translate well when it's being dished out quickly, and also being a little tired when I watched it. It did leave me wanting to watch it again though and seek out more of Fellini's work.

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Once again I only managed to squeeze in one new release this week. Not that I was too busy this week, just that I was still kind of broke from the move. There really hasn't been much to get excited about anyway. Pain and Gain, Olympus Has Fallen and Oblivion were the only ones last week that I was interested in seeing. None of those had me running to spend money on them either. Gatsby came out on Friday so I'll be seeing that sometime this week hopefully. And this coming Friday the new Star Trek is here so the reviews should be picking up a bit. Anyway, on to my thoughts on Oblivion, the only one I saw this week.

Oblivion 6/10

I love sci-fi. It's safe to say at this point it's my favorite genre of movie. I love getting lost in thoughts of what could be. Films are an excellent way to lose yourself. A good film will make you let go of your worries and sink into it. Science fiction movies can pull this off best because they bring you places and show you things that you normally don't see. You can let go of reason. I've never held anything against a sci-fi film for stretching the limits of what's actually possible. I just let it be. If it's good it will own my attention in awe and wonder for the time I'm watching. Even if it's bad it can still present great ideas and gorgeous imagery that you don't see anywhere else.

Oblivion manages to evoke some of that awe but unfortunately the sacrifice of box office success by attaching Tom Cruise to the project dwindles it down into something that's good, but just a hint of what it could have been.

Where it works is in the world and mythology it builds. The post-apocalyptic world that Joseph Kosinksi brings to life (in his graphic novel first and then translated it to the screen himself) is so enthralling, I was amazed by that alone. It's a desolate wasteland, which isn't a completely original idea at this point, that's brought to life beautifully. At one point we follow along as one of the characters zips along on a futuristic motorcycle through the still showing suspension cables of a long buried bridge and it just looks amazing. The whole world is created so elegantly that it makes me happy that CGI has gotten to the point it has.

The technology here is great too. It's futuristic but it's not all shiny with that new car smell still lingering around. It's worn, which is fitting since the movies follows a maintenance crew of sorts, and things break. It adds a level of realism to ideas that aren't quite in the realm of possible right now. It's also nice that they never shove it in your face. There's no elaborate displays of what can be done or no gimmicky ways of introducing them. It's all presented in a very matter-of-fact manner, as if this has been regular life for the characters and we're just stopping by to have a look. It's how science fiction should be handled at all times.

The plot is where the movie starts to hit snags. The idea and reasoning for the post apocalyptic world we're witnessing is pretty standard fare but it does offer an interesting twist on the scenario. I won't go into too many details but it keeps twisting. Sometimes for the better, but mostly for the worst. I can't say I hated the plot but I feel it would have benefited more if it didn't hold it's cards so close to it's chest. The build up is done poorly enough that you can see everything coming before the story thinks it's actually time to let you in. It spends so much time trying to trick you that it forgets to stop and think about where it's going.

The worst part of the movie for me was in the casting. I could forgive the weak plot under the right circumstances and still consider this a great sci-fi film. But someone went and cast Tom Cruise and ruined the chances of that happening. Now I don't hate Tom Cruise, but he really bothers me. Mostly it's his need to own the screen whenever he's in frame (which happens to be a lot). He can't just play subtle or let the story take over. He needs to impose his short stature in wherever he can and make everything he's in his own vessel. I understand the studio wanting a name such as Cruises involved with a project like this to give it some star power and help with box office number. It's hard enough for sci-fi films to be widely accepted when you're title doesn't begin with the word "Star". But I whole heartily think that casting a lesser known actor in the main role, someone who's not going to try to steal every scene, would have worked out much better.

The rest of the cast and crew are okay but nothing amazing. The best would go to Melissa Leo in her small role in the film. Morgan Freeman is great as ever but he actually has very little screen time which bummed me out a little. But with the movie dominated by Tom Cruise's presence nobody really gets any opportunity to stand out here.

In conclusion, I did enjoy the movie but it was mostly a case of me letting my mind wander and imagine what could have been. The world created is amazing and I really was in awe of some of the scenes and imagery present here. The story isn't going to win you over and neither are the characters. Unless you are a Tom Cruise fan of course. But if you are a fan of sci-fi then I would recommend it for the tech and beautiful world created alone. Just don't expect to be blown away by some mind bending plot.

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And that's it again for another late blog post. Chances are next weeks won't be on time either as it is the long weekend coming up and I plan on heading out of town for some good ol' fashioned drankin in the woods. But I do plan on having Eberts Top 10 list finished this week and hopefully have reviews for The Great Gatsby and Start Trek up as well.

I'm also looking for feedback on the reviews I have posted thus far. I'll state again that this is all still a learning curve and I'm trying to figure this out as I go along, but I do feel like I start to ramble too much when I start writing a review. What do you think? Am I giving too much information? Too little?

I think I need to come up with a set format to stick to that I can apply to any film I review. Something on the shorter side as well. I recently read an article by Film Crit Hulk over at Badass Digest regarding reviews and it fits nicely into my feelings for movie trailers as well. That article can be found right here. It's had some influence on me as I write these reviews and I'm trying to come up with a style that really gives you nothing in forms of spoiler material as you watch movies. 

And yes that is a writer that goes by the name Film Crit Hulk on a website with Badass in the title. And yes he is awesome. I highly recommend reading some of his stuff.

Thanks again for stopping by folks! Cheers!

My Weekly Update 05/07

Oh. My. God. Game of Thrones. Shit son, that's one good show!

Had to throw that out there. I just watched Sunday nights episode and I'm blown away with the quality of that show so far this season. The past three episodes have been more than I could ever hope for. Also, they are now past the point of what I've read in the books. To any of you who have yet to read them or aren't quite caught up, don't bother. I was on that same train of thought and I completely got off three episodes ago. I found that by reading the books first, a few things happened:

First off, I had to read the damn books. While they are good and well worth the time and effort, it's a lot of time, especially if you only read before bed like I've been inclined to do lately. So trying to read and get caught up before a new season starts isn't my cup of tea, especially when you get to those long ass Sansa chapters.

Second, I spent too much time comparing the two in my head rather than enjoying what a great show it is. Books obviously have much more detail and information. Some of which is good. Some of which isn't. During the first two seasons I spent a lot of time picking at the differences between the two. I feel the greatness of the show was watered down a bit in the process by worrying about a lot of the little things that didn't make the cut or were altered in some form.

And finally, I spoiled a few of the "Holy Shit!!" moments with the book. They were still enjoyable while reading since I could put the pieces together myself and make the perfect image for these scenes in my mind. But this awesomeness is magnified when it's got HBO, a decent budget, and some incredible actors to bring it all to life.

So I strongly urge all of you to do the TV show first. Read the books after if you still want to. I know I will eventually. But I feel the journey is much better going in blind. It's probably one of the best shows on TV lately, and with the way this season has been going I'm soon going to raise this to the same level as Breaking Bad and Sons of Anarchy.

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So I moved last week and was fairly busy with that. Spent all of Wednesday moving everything and then the rest of the week was putting this and that away. I did manage to get two of Eberts top ten list out of the way though. I was foolishly hoping to get more done but it will have to wait a little longer. Here again is a brief synopses of the movies I did get to see:

Citizen Kane

One of the more well known movies on the list. Easily recognizable as a classic and widely considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Some of my fears of watching older movies finally came to surface with this one sadly. While I still thought it was great, it didn't meet all the expectations I had for it.

Raging Bull

This was one of the movies that I hang my head in shame for not watching until now. It's debatable if this is De Niro and Scorseses best movie and I can completely see the reasons behind this argument. I wanted to re-watch it again as soon as the credits rolled.

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The only movie I watched in theaters this week was Iron Man 3. I saw this opening night and aside from the lineup to get in, it was nice to see a movie on opening night. I haven't done that in a while and I know it really doesn't change the movie in any way, but some part of me gets a little excited that I get to see the movie before anyone else. Other than the millions of other people around the world who have seen it already of course...... but you know what I mean. 

Iron Man 3 7/10

I won't say too much about Iron Man 3. Most of you have already decided if you're going to see it or not. I've already talked about the Marvel universe they have created in my previous post and if you are buying into that whole thing then this is a worthy installment in that world.

Being the first film after The Avengers is a huge burden to bear, but Iron Man does it in typical Iron Man fashion. All the characters, humor and fancy gadgetry are here that we expect from the series. The trailers give it a more somber tone than you would expect, and the seriousness is there, but it's given in a manner that is consistent with the other two installments. It's marketed to seem more serious for a reason I promise you. You'll see what I mean when and if you watch it.

Iron Man succeeds in picking up where The Avengers leaves off. The references are there but they're not overwhelming. The shadow of the events linger over Tony and they have some effect on him, but it's not where the conflict in this movie comes from. It manages to stay an Iron Man movie in a much bigger universe. He still has his own problems that have nothing to do with that happened in New York and it's done believably. These movies all need to co-exist but they still need to be their own. Iron Man is probably the best example of a character who can stand on his own and this movie solidifies that.

I do wish there could have been more character cameos, or tidbits of info regarding the rest of the Marvel universe hidden in here. But I understand why they didn't. A lot of that before The Avengers was build up. Now that we're past that movie it's going to be a different journey to the next Avengers film. If the quality of the movies to come stay the same as this one, then these missing pieces won't be an issue.

There were a few things about this movie that frustrated me a little though. A few of the characters don't get the amount of screen time I felt they deserved. Either being killed off too quickly or just being oddly absent for extended periods of time.

A few of the plot details are left very vague with little to no explanation. I've thought more about it since I've seen the movie and I've grown a little more accepting of the decisions made. But still, this movie could have (should have) been smarter. A little more exposition could have gone a long way. 

Finally, at one point in the movie Tony Stark mentions being a "hot mess". It's fitting because at times, this movie would fall into the "hot mess" category. I feel like some of the scenes and sequences were a bit much and over the top. It's almost as if it's dialing everything up to pander to the summer movie audience and to try to live on the same plain of spectacle that The Avengers did. Most times it works as the visual eye candy it is. Other times it felt like it was trying way to hard.

I don't think anybody should go into this expecting a sequel to The Avengers. This is an Iron Man movie that lives in a post-Avengers world. It's great if you liked the Iron Man movies and Tony Stark on their own. It might not rub off the same way if you're expecting to see Thor or Nick Fury show up to help out. This is also not the smartest of the three Iron Man films. I feel like this time around they sacrificed some of the intelligence that helped make the first two films some of the better ones in the Marvel universe. In it's place we're getting more grandeur and spectacle, and once you suspend your disbelief in some of the more ridiculous ideas that pop up, you'll get a film that feels much more complete than Iron Man 2, but not quite as smart as the original Iron Man.

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That's all I have for this week. Sorry for being a little late with getting this up. Also, don't mind the change in format and spacing compared with the previous weekly updates. I'm trying to find the best flow and this whole blog is still a work in progress of course. As always, comments/suggestions are always welcome.

Thanks again for reading!

The World Is Your Marvel

Last night I went to see the biggest movie so far in 2013. No this is not an Iron Man 3 review. I have to think a little more on that. Decide if Ben Kingsleys performance was brilliant, or whatever you want to determine is the opposite of that.

No no. Before Iron Man 3 started, I stated on twitter that I was about to head into the most important movie in the Marvel universe. Not the biggest. Not the best. At this point those two honors go to The Avengers in my opinion. No, Iron Man 3 is going to be the most important film in this universe because it's going to determine if what Disney and Marvel has on their hands here is a potential Bond-like franchise, or if it's going to sputter into The Avengers 2 on an empty tank of gas.

Since the first Iron Man, Marvel has had a plan. They planted the seed at the end with the introduction of Nick Fury and mentioning the Avengers initiative. This obviously could have turned into nothing more than a fun Easter egg if Iron Man performed poorly. Of course things didn't happen like that. Iron Man became a hit that I don't think anyone could have predicted. Up until that film I had never known a damn thing about the character, but I still loved that movie. I assume that I wasn't alone in that statement.

Now, with the movie a huge critical and financial success, and the mention of the Avenger initiative thrown out into the air and gobbled up by every comic book loving fan-boy (and girl) out there, where next?

Obviously you go up. Build your stepping stones as you climb and hope for the best. Comic book movies had finally found a formula with the success of X-Men, Spider-Man, Batman Begins and Iron Man. People seemed to finally know how to make good, critically acceptable comic book movies, that the people wanted to see. It becomes a bit of a safer bet now to throw a few dollars into Thor and Captain America and see where it goes. It's a well calculated gamble at this point.

After Iron Man, we got bombarded with as much Marvel as the studio could throw at us and it was all good. None of the movies were spectacular but they were all good adaptations of their source material. More importantly though, the pieces were slowly being put into place. Hints in one movie about the next. One characters items showing up in another movie. We all knew what was coming at this point and that was a part of the draw. I know I personally stayed behind with all these movies to catch the short post-credit scene that hinted at things to come. But how would they tie it all together. How do you have all of these larger than life characters share the screen together and not have it turn into a bloated mess of CGI and over the top action?

Joss Whedon is how. He took what could have easily been a glorious mess and turned it into one of the best comic book movies to ever grace the screen. The humor was there. The epic scale was there. All the characters, even those who never had their own films, got their share of screen time and glory. And to all of us who waited so patiently since 2008 when Iron Man came to life, we were rewarded far beyond what we ever thought was possibly in a comic book movie.

This is the gigantic success that is The Avengers. Never has a studio put that much time and effort into developing a cohesive universe where all these characters lived together. The scale of this was huge. Just from the build up alone this movie was going to be a hit. But when the movie ended up being as good as it was and as big as it was, then it became more than a hit. It became a new way to look at how to bring comic book characters to the screen.

Now we live in a post-Avengers world. It's exciting and it's full of great, revolutionary ideas that weren't available to us before. But it's also a dangerous place. With The Avengers we've climbed to the top of a mountain, and as we are about to break the clouds to see what's in front of us, hopefully (I hope, you hope, Marvel hopes) that there will be more mountain to climb above it. Maybe not so steeply, but at least somewhere to go up. Because the other option is that it's a rough ride down.

With Iron Man 3, we're going to see how Marvel and the cast of characters can live in their newly created universe by themselves again. We'll eventually get another Avengers film but between now and then we have Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and quite possibly Marvels riskiest endeavor yet to date, Guardians of the Galaxy. How do all of these characters (Guardians aside) go back to the lives they lived before and deal with perils that may pale in comparison to what we saw in The Avengers. How are all of these new adventures going to make sense when we now know that they all know each other exists? What's stopping Iron Man from giving the Hulk a call when shit hits the fan? Why would S.H.I.E.L.D ever risk their own agents in the field when they have Captain America on their side?

These are all questions that Marvel needs to deal with along with adding a slew of other new characters into the mix. Are the original Avengers eventually going to be replaced by them or will they fight side by side? Along with these questions they also have to build up to another planned Avengers sequel and more after that. They've already planned for an Ant Man movie and from what I've read we can expect Dr. Strange and Black Panther movies as well. Not to mention the fact that they have a S.H.I.E.L.D TV series in the work. And who's to say that we'll actually care about any of this in a couple years. We don't have the longest attention spans after all. Our society and culture gets saturated with one thing and then before long, who really cares about it all anymore? Will the Marvel universe have enough to tell us to make us all want to come back and see some more? Will it be able to stay profitable after having one of the highest grossing movies ever?

Obviously only time will tell. I think that it's a safe bet to say that we'll be seeing Marvel movies well past the Avengers next outing. Marvel has the foundation laid for potentially the most successful franchise in the history of cinema. The hard work is done. Now they just need to keep it up. Not reboot a character every five to six years when they can't get an actor back. Not try to get bigger with every instalment. Be smart about the story lines they adapt from the comics. There's a few decades of material for some of these characters so it shouldn't be too hard to avoid the shitty ones. And what I would most like to see, finally start creating some original superheros and villains in the cinematic world.

So with Iron Man 3 now playing we should soon see how life is for everybody after The Avengers. It's already breaking records overseas so it's almost guaranteed that the financial success is going to be there. The reviews seem to be good so far. It all seems to be pointing towards another string of hits for Marvel.



*Obviously I've seen the movie at this point but I wrote this without any of my own personal thoughts on how it turned out. I'll have a review up for that in the next few days.

**HINT: It's better than Iron Man 2!